Orthotic devices have been in use for a many years, perhaps, dating back for centuries. While they afford varying degrees of support or protection for portions of the human body, they all possess a common shortcoming of rendering the body less mobile than when no device is worn.
It is obvious that a "perfect" orthotic device would render the wearer as mobile as if he were not wearing a device and yet afford support or protection against injury or further injury to a weakened joint, permitting the wearer to continue in a physical activity in which he could not participate without the device.
Athletes, particularly contact sports players, are quite prone to knee injuries, which if sufficiently severe could leave a person immobile, or to a lesser degree, not as effective in running, jumping, or the like. Continued participation by an injured athlete leaves him prone to further injury to the already damaged member.
It is one of the objectives of this invention to provide a knee orthosis or knee brace, which is designed to reduce the possibility of injury due to a lateral or anterior impact, while permitting the athlete as much freedom as is possible. Inherent in this objective is that the knee orthosis or brace should concurrently be as strong as possible, as comfortable as possible, and as light as possible.
It is also an objective of this invention to produce a knee orthosis which may be formed or custom fit to the individual wearer, and which, after being fit to the wearer, is adjustable relative to how much pressure it puts on the leg of the wearer, and how much support it offers to a specifically injured area such as the patella tendon.